A handout photo released by the French Defence Ministry shows a group of French and foreign nationals being evacuated by the French army from N'Djamena, February 2, 2008. New heavy fighting rocked the Chad capital February 03, 2008 as rebels surrounded President Idriss Deby Itno in his palace and hundreds of foreigners fled the country.

The Chadian Government said it had quashed a rebellion aimed at ousting President Idriss Deby and driven the rebels out of the capital N'djamena, though a leading rebel said they had only temporarily withdrawn.

French troops protect the Presidential Terminal at N'Djamena Airport, Chad, on February 3, 2008. Heavy mortar and machine gun fire was heard in the northern sector of the town minutes later, near the palace where president Idriss Deby has been holed up since Friday.

Chadian rebels seeking to overthrow President Idriss Deby have battled their way into the capital N'Djamena and have fought government troops around the presidential palace, diplomats and residents said.

Six French aid workers convicted by a court in Chad of trying to kidnap 103 children have arrived in France following a deal that will allow them to serve their eight-year sentences in a French prison.